Roger Moraes – San Jose, California
While at a Gold Wing Road Riders Association district rally Roger Moraes and fiancée Mary Kay Jeskey attended a breakfast presentation given by SkyMed Representative Peggy Wood. Roger and Mary Kay were the first ones to sign up for a SkyMed Ultimate membership with an additional three-year extension.
The next morning Roger was on his way back from refueling Mary Kay’s motorcycle so they could go for a ride later that day. Then, the unthinkable happened. “As I was exiting off the freeway and onto the overpass I saw that a van and I were both approaching the light at the intersection where construction barriers fenced off two of the lanes going over the bridge. Instead of stopping for the red light, the van driver drove through the intersection thinking it was closed due to construction, according to his explanation to the police. As we both entered the intersection I tried to correct my path but ultimately T-boned into the side of the van near the driver’s door. The driver of the van had a suspended license but he stopped and got out and asked me if I was okay. I was lying on my stomach on the pavement when I saw the tendons on the back of my hand and replied ‘No, I’m not okay, please call 911’ and he did.”
“The accident happened just several hundred feet from the hotel where the convention was being held and within minutes I was surrounded by fellow riders. Amazingly, one of them was a registered nurse who assessed my condition and made sure I didn’t move until the firefighters and paramedics arrived. I have no idea how long I was there but when the EMTs arrived they told me not to move and that they would do everything. They cut off my clothes, put me on a board and started IVs, then put my hand in a splint, prepared my broken arm for transportation and taped my helmet in place. I was loaded into the ambulance and taken to the hospital ER and admitted overnight for testing. I had no internal bleeding and by the next afternoon I was up and walking, but wound up with 17 stitches in my left shin, 13 stitches in my left hand, and a confirmed compound fracture to my left forearm.”
How did you find out about SkyMed and why did you choose SkyMed? ”The convention lists all vendors attending and two years ago we went on a ride where the road captain hit a deer and was life-flighted out of a remote area to the hospital. I had been doing some research on medical transportation services due to the high cost of the air ambulance. I have had complete medical coverage and a supplemental plan, but the road captain’s air flight was around $34,000 which really got me thinking. We had also talked about it in our chapter meetings so I was prepared to meet with SkyMed sales rep, Peggy Wood, at the convention vendor area. Since the membership also covered both of us, I could see no downside and it took only a few minutes to decide I was going to sign up for it. I’m so glad I did!
Following the accident Peggy was notified and she immediately shifted into a service role, cancelling her airline ticket home and making sure the arrangements for us were taken care of. She still had our application in her briefcase and due to the holiday there was no clerical staff in the office to generate a member account. Peggy did make cell phone contact with SkyMed management on that holiday and made sure our membership was logged and registered. She made things happen and it was incredible.
I never planned on any of this happening but SkyMed had told us that if I was ever in an accident that they would fly Mary Kay home too. I was scheduled to leave on a two-week ride to Glacier National Park and other remote areas the following weekend and I knew I couldn’t go on this two-week trip without this kind of coverage. I couldn’t do that to Mary Kay and it was simply the responsible thing to do for my partner.
Why did you choose SkyMed? I had a small policy with another company for many years that offered something similar but realized it was terribly inadequate. I won’t speak negatively about what they provided, but I realized it was not enough and that I needed more. At the chapter meeting Saturday I told everyone that this is something you really need to do because whether you travel by bike, car, plane or train, if something happens while you’re away from home, SkyMed services will help you.
What would you tell your friends about your experience with SkyMed? SkyMed was a tremendous relief to Mary Kay because she could focus on me instead of worrying about getting our motorcycles back home. One of our Gold Wing friends offered to drive us back to San Jose and we accepted. SkyMed would have taken us home but they took care of all the details to ship our bikes home safely. We experienced the tremendous value of our SkyMed membership in less than 24 hours after signing up and we won’t travel anywhere without it!
Roger and Mary Kay are Gold Wing Road Riders Association members and became SkyMed members on August 31, 2013
